AMHERST - Soon after leaving the military in 1995 Jim Hnatiuk started to think about what kind of Canada would be left for future generations.

As he considered entering politics, he began researching each of Canada's political parties and soon found the Christian Heritage Party was the closest to his values and his vision of the future.

"It became much clearer to me as I retired and my children were getting married and having children that I started thinking about what we're going to be leaving our children," Hnatiuk said. "It wasn't so much as how pleased I was with Christian Heritage Party as it was how displeased I was with the other parties."

Hnatiuk said the major political parties were the problem with Canadian politics in that they'd lost touch with the grassroots party members.

Before joining the party in 2002, he briefly toyed with the idea of starting his own party before realizing just how many political parties are on the electoral landscape.

He ran in Kings-Hants in 2004 and 2008 and South Shore-St. Margaret's in 2006.

Hnatiuk became deputy party leader in 2005 and won the party's leadership in 2008.

Hnatiuk said more and more Canadians are feeling disenfranchised. It's something he's hearing on the campaign trail not only in Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley but across the country.